Dot marks the spot
by LittleMonkeyDog
Summary: While on their latest mission for a tattoo artist, Face gets injured. What looks like some minor bruising, turns out to be something completely different and they end up racing against time to save his life.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

This time the A-team had a very special client. He was a tattoo artist. His tattoos were real pieces of art and he was glad to finally be able to open his very own tattoo parlor. What he didn't expect to happen was to be blackmailed by Chinese mobsters. They had burst into the place at broad daylight scaring away his customer and threatening him. They told him he needed to pay them protection money and if he didn't do that something serious would happen to his wife and son. When he explained he couldn't pay that amount of money, they beat him up and tore his store apart.

The man didn't want to give up is dream nor pay these creeps the sum they requested, but he was also worried about the well-being of his wife and kid. So he went looking for help. His son spent a lot of time at the Children's Center. Volunteers made sure the kids were able to keep themselves occupied and off the street by following workshops of all kinds. B.A. happened to volunteer at the Center. The little boy had learned to trust the Big Guy and had told him what was happening with his dad.

That got the ball rolling. B.A. had told his friends about the trouble the boy's family was in and they decided they wanted to help. B.A. had set up a meeting with the father at the Center. He was pretty suspicious at first when he saw B.A., but his son managed to explain to him that B.A. was one of the good guys and could help them. So he sat down and met the other A-team members as well. He told them the whole story. The men all came to an understanding and the A-team was hired for yet another mission.

With Hannibal on the jazz, things were heating up pretty soon. Hannibal had lured the enemy and he was sure they would turn up at the tattoo shop any time now. So the guys all hung back at the tattoo parlor. They all kept their eyes open. B.A. was on the outside keeping an eye on the road. Hannibal had his position on top of the roof and Murdock and Face were positioned inside the parlor.

"This place gives me the creeps," Face stated while looking around.

"Why is that, muchacho?" Murdock asked.

"I just don't like being in a place with this many needles," Face answered shivering slightly.

"It'll be okay," Murdock assured his best friend.

"I hope so," Face muttered, but he had a bad feeling about this.

"Face, are you there?" Hannibal's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Yes, Hannibal, we're right here. What's up?"

"The show is about to get started. Get in position and stay sharp."

"Got ya, Hannibal."

Soon after, the mobsters came busting in and the team was ready to fight them. As the enemy was highly skilled and trained, it wasn't an easy fight. They had to dodge and evade punches as much as they got to punch the scumbags themselves. They weren't doing too bad. Even Face managed to keep up with the fist work at first. When one of the scumbag went down, another jumped on the occasion to hit Face square in the jaw. He had to blink a couple of times to get his focus back, but he managed to do it anyway. What he hadn't noticed was that the scumbag attacking him had managed to pick up one of the tattoo needles and dip it in a jar he kept hidden in his jacket pocket somewhere. Face was ready to deliver some punches when he saw the needle out of the corner of his eye. He fought with the goon to keep the needle away from his body, but it wasn't an easy task. He couldn't ask one of his team mates to help him out either as they were busy themselves. While looking to his left for either one of them, the goon managed to stick him in the chest with the needle. But Face reacted fast and he managed to push the goon off of him and punch him in the face. With all the adrenaline running through his veins, he didn't feel any pain and so he forgot about the needle prick very soon.

Finally, the team got the upper hand and managed to take the enemy out.

"B.A., you okay?" Hannibal asked.

"Yeah, I'm fin' man," he replied.

"Murdock, what about you?"

"A okay, boss."

"Face, you okay? Face?"

"Oh boy. Why does this always happen to me," Face complained while holding on to his bloody nose. Blood was dripping from it and soaking his light blue shirt.

"Is it broken, Lieutenant?" Hannibal asked him.

"How does it look to you?" Face said as he took his hands away from his face.

His nose was all swollen as well as the area surrounding his right eye.

"Yeah, kid. I bet it is," Hannibal said. "Not to worry. Murdock, go grab the first aid kit from the van, will ya? You'll feel better in no time."

Murdock ran over to the van to get the kit while Hannibal and the others made their way to their client's house. Their client's wife gasped as she saw what had happened to Face. Hannibal explained how they managed to get rid of the bad guys and they were all relieved.

"But Face got injured," the wife said. "We didn't want that to happen."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Hannibal said. "It's all in the line of duty, right Lieutenant?"

"Sure. Whatever you say," he replied.

"We'll patch him up. It's no big deal."

"No, sure. No big deal. I've just ruined a 500 dollar Armani shirt that's all not to mention that I broke my nose and probably fractured my eye socket as well and to top it all off I have a splitting headache."

Meanwhile Murdock had arrived with their first aid kit. The client's wife offered to take care of Face. She made her son run up to the kitchen to get some ice from the fridge and a towel to put it in. Face was lying down on the couch and she gently put the ice wrapped in the towel on his swollen nose and eye. She also gently cleaned his face with a wash cloth and wiped away all the blood.

"We're really thankful for what you've done for us," she softly said to Face. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you and to your shirt."

"Oh … uh … it's nothing. Really," Face stammered. "I'll live. It's not the first time I've had my nose broken and it certainly will not be the last. Oh … And I wouldn't worry about the shirt either. Those bloodstains won't come out, but I'll just buy myself another one of those. It's no big deal!"

She looked at him with a shocked look in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Face said trying to comfort her somewhat. "Thank you for patching me up."

The couple was so grateful that they cooked a delicious home-cooked meal for the team and let them stay overnight at the house. She also handed Face a painkiller for his killer headache which he gratefully took. The family had one guest bedroom. As Face was injured he would stay up in the guestroom with Hannibal. B.A. and Murdock both stayed on the couch in the living room.

"How are you doing, kid?"

"I'm tired and sore all over. And my head hurts like hell."

"Sit down a minute, will ya. Let me have a look. You know, kid. You're gonna be sore for a couple of days I'm afraid. I'll get you another one of those pain pills and then it's off to bed for you."

Face took the pill his CO offered him, took off his clothes and crawled into bed. He was out within seconds. Hannibal merely smiled as he watched his second-in-command fall asleep. The next day, they would say goodbye to their client and get back on the road. The mission had been a tough one for everyone and they were all tired. Hannibal felt like they needed a few days off to recover and relax in between missions.

He woke up first the next morning. His second-in-command was still sleeping peacefully. Hannibal decided to let him sleep a little while longer. The kid was injured. He needed some rest. Hannibal quietly slipped out of bed and met up with Murdock and B.A. in the living room. They were up too as well as their client and his wife and their son. She was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for everyone. Murdock was watching cartoons with the young boy by his side and Hannibal and B.A. were having a conversation with their client.

"Where is Face?" The wife asked upon emerging from the kitchen with the food.

"Oh, don't worry about him. He was still sleeping like a baby when I left him. He's alright. I checked him over last night and gave him another painkiller for his headache. I decided to let him sleep a while longer so he could recover."

When the table was set and everyone sat down, Face emerged from the bedroom.

"Nice of you to join us Lieutenant," Hannibal said.

"How are you feeling, buddy?"

"Do I look okay to you?"

"No, you ain't lookin' too good, man. Damn. We ain't gonna get no good motel rooms no more for a while now."

Face merely rolled his eyes. He did look a mess. His nose was still swollen as well as his eye and it was turning black and blue already.

"How's the head, kid?"

"Still hurts like hell."

"You're probably concussed. Better take another painkiller and get some sleep in the van when we take off."

"Where are we going, boss?" Murdock asked. "Back home?"

"I was thinking about taking a short break, guys. We all could do with some downtime."

"Yeah, you're right. I ain't sayin' no to that."

"Sounds good to me, Hannibal."

"What about you, Face? You can rest for a while."

"Yeah, some rest sounds nice to me."

Their client informed them that he knew a nice little remote cottage at a nearby lake where they could lay low for a while. After breakfast, the team said their goodbyes and took off to said cabin. Their client had made the arrangements for them to be able to spend their holiday there.

B.A. got behind the wheel, Hannibal occupied his usual seat in the front next to B.A. and Murdock and Face sat in the back as usual. Face hissed in pain as he got into the van and that didn't go unnoticed by his best friend.

"What's wrong, Facey?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You're not fine."

"Sure, I'm fine Murdock. Okay, no. My nose is broken, I have a black and blue eye and a killer headache. But apart from that, I'm fine."

"Then why did you hiss?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Why did you hiss? And don't tell me it's because of your nose or your eye. I know you, buddy. So quit lying and tell us already."

Hannibal now turned around in his seat picking up on the conversation.

"Murdock … Cut it out, will ya. It's nothing. I'm fine. And for the record, I didn't hiss."

"But you did, Facey."

"It's just my aching head. It really does hurt. That's all!"

"Face!"

"Okay. Okay. So I hissed. It's nothing really. No big deal! It was probably just a wrong movement. Honest."

"Lieutenant?"

"I felt a sudden sharp pain in my chest. That's why I hissed … I guess. I must have pulled a muscle or something while fighting. It's over now. But my head … It is still killing me."

"Okay, kid, if you say so. If you feel anything else, let us know. Okay? Now get in the van, close your eyes and rest."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **Thank you so much for your reviews and follows. You guys are the best! I'll do my best to update as soon as I can. Hope you'll like this chapter as well. Have fun** **BTW: Unfortunately I don't owe any of the characters of the show and this story is entirely fictional.**

 **CHAPTER 2**

Face closed his eyes and fell asleep almost straight away.

"Murdock, keep an eye on him. Will ya?"

"Sure, Colonel."

The team drove all day to get to the cabin. They grabbed some take-away for lunch. Face was still fast asleep. Hannibal decided he could really use his rest. When they arrived late in the afternoon, Face was still asleep.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. I think you've had enough beauty sleep for now. Time to wake up," Hannibal said.

Face didn't even stir.

"You heard me, Lieutenant. Up and at em."

Face groaned.

"I'm tired, Hannibal. Can't this wait?"

"Face, we've arrived at the cabin. You've slept all day long, kid. Isn't that enough? Anyway, we've arrived at the cabin and you need to get out of the van."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now let's get going."

Face groaned again.

"Murdock, help him out. Face, why don't you get settled in and take a nice warm shower huh? You can grab something to eat afterwards and take a painkiller and I'll have another look at your eye and nose. Okay? You're probably concussed, kid. That could explain the headache."

Murdock helped him up and supported his best friend's weakened frame. As soon as they got out of the van, Hannibal grabbed Face's waist and supported him as well. They brought there weakened team mate inside and helped him upstairs and into the bathroom. While Face was showering, Hannibal and Murdock helped B.A. to unload the van. As soon as they were finished, Murdock disappeared into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Face let the water run while he got undressed. He couldn't help but shiver in the warm bathroom. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he noticed that he looked somewhat paler than usual. Also his body hurt all over. It was as if all of his muscles protested at the slightest movement of his body and it took great effort to remain standing up. Even underneath the hot water beam of the shower, Face still shivered. Also he had to lean against the wall to keep him from falling to the floor. He was weakened and he felt as if he had been run over by a freight train.

Somehow, he managed to finish his shower, get dressed again and stumbled down the stairs to have dinner. Meanwhile, Murdock had thrown together a meal for his team and they all sat at the table to enjoy it.

"What's the matter, Facey. Don't you like my cooking?"

"Yes, sure Murdock. It was good, but you know … with my head hurting and stuff … I'm not really hungry, you know."

"Whatcha talkin' about, sucker. You ain't had no lunch either. Gotta eat somethin'. You ain't got much flesh on those bones."

"B.A. is right, kid. You really should try to eat something. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just not that hungry, guys. I don't feel so well. My head hurts and so does every muscle in my body. I'm cold and I'm tired and I really just want to go to bed and sleep."

"You're not nauseous, are ya? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"No. No, I'm not nauseous. Don't worry! And I don't need a doctor. All I need is some sleep. Trust me. I'll be okay."

"Face, you know when you get nauseous you have a serious concussion. In that case, you really should see a doctor."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But as I said before, I'm not nauseous. I'm just not hungry. That's all! All I want is to close my eyes to get rid of this headache and those sore muscles."

"Let me check you over myself first, kid. You do look a little pale to my liking."

"Oh Hannibal really," Face whined.

"Yes really, Lieutenant. Now let me check your injuries at first."

"Careful, Hannibal," Face winced in pain as Hannibal carefully assessed the damage.

"He got you good, kid. Better put some more ice on it. That should help you get rid of the swelling. What about that muscle you've pulled? Huh? You say your entire body is sore. Let's have a look at that."

"It's nothing. My muscles are just complaining. I mean, that was some kind of guy that attacked me, you know. I'm just sore. It'll be over in the morning."

"I'll be the judge of that. Now unbutton your shirt, Lieutenant."

Face sighed but did what Hannibal told him to do.

"Hmm. There is a bruise on your chest. It's not too big, but I bet it is painful. I don't think you have bruised or broken ribs though. "

"Told you so," Face answered while re-buttoning his shirt once again. He was so very cold.

Hannibal was concerned about his second-in-command and told him to go to bed and take a painkiller. Face had the tendency to downplay serious injuries and Hannibal was worried about his headaches as they didn't seem to get any better despite the rest and the painkillers. He also was pale looking and shivering.

"Wait a minute, Face," Hannibal said as he followed his Lieutenant up to his bedroom. "I don't like your shivering one bit." He handed Face a thermometer. "You know the routine, kid. And you'd better cooperate."

"Oh, Hannibal. I'm just cold because I'm tired."

"Put the thermometer underneath your tongue, Lieutenant, and stop arguing already."

Face did as he was told and handed the device back to his CO after it beeped.

"101.3. You're running a fever too, kid. Alright! Get in bed and I'll hand you another something for your fever. We'll have to check that again in the morning. Now close your eyes and get some rest."

Face took the tablet and swallowed it with some water. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light once again.

The rest of the team relaxed for a little while before heading to bed. The next morning, Hannibal woke up bright and early as usual. He decided to check on his second-in-command. Face was still fast asleep. Hannibal peeked through the door to his room and saw his Lieutenant sleep. He looked peacefully, so he decided to let him rest a while longer. Hannibal went downstairs and sat on the patio of the cabin where he started to read the paper. Murdock and B.A. arrived a little while later. Hannibal and B.A. decided they would drive up to the little store they passed at the park entrance to get them some breakfast and Murdock would wake up his best friend.

It didn't take the two of them that long to pick out some breakfast for the team. They had picked out some colorful donuts for Murdock as they knew their crazy teammate just loved them. Hannibal had grabbed a healthy breakfast for Face and some coffee as well. As soon as they arrived back at the cabin, Murdock came storming out of the door.

"What's the matter, Captain?"

"Colonel. You've gotta come quickly."

"What's wrong, fool?"

"It's Facey. I can't get him to wake up. He is tossing and turning in bed and he's all hot to the touch."

Hannibal jumped out of the van and raced up the stairs to check on Face the team's breakfast long forgotten. Face was still tossing and turning in bed. His blond hair was sweat soaked and he was moaning somewhat in his sleep. Hannibal sat on the edge of his bed and very gently put the back of his hand on Face's forehead.

"He is burning up," Hannibal stated. "Murdock, grab the med kit from the bathroom will you."

"Kid? Can you hear me? It's me, Hannibal. Face? Son?"

But Face's eyes remained closed.

"Come on, kid. I need you to open those baby blue eyes of yours. Listen to me, son. You're burning up. I need to take your temperature again."

Face groaned.

"Wakey wakey, Facey. You've got a fever, muchacho."

Face's eyes fluttered open, but he shut them tightly again almost immediately.

"What's the matter, kid?"

"It all hurts."

"What hurts?"

"My head, my entire body, … Everything … It just hurts so damn much."

Hannibal and Murdock shared a worried glance.

"That doesn't sound good, kid. Let's take your temperature again. Okay?"

Hannibal helped Face take off his pajama top and noticed that the bruising on his chest had grown somewhat bigger. He took Face's temperature and it was pretty high: 103.1° F.

"Could it be the flu? Some nurses and patients at the VA had it too last week, but I didn't get it. Maybe I just gave you my germs and I got you all sick."

"Yeah. You just might have done that, Murdock. Okay, Face. Let's get you something for your fever and tuck you in so you can rest. That's about all you can do, really."

"Tell you what, buddy. I'll make you some of my famous chicken soup. Grandma always used to make those when I got sick. You'll feel better in no time."

"You ain't gonna poison him with your cookin'."

"No, B.A. I know the recipe. Besides, have I ever poisoned you with my cooking? Have I? Don't think so."

"That's a great idea, Captain. But I think we should let Face rest for now."

They all looked at their pale team mate lying in his bed. He had his eyes closed already and was softly snoring. They all tiptoed out of the room to let him rest.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **Thanks so much for reviewing. You guys are the best! Here is yet another chapter. I do hope you'll like it. Have fun**

 **CHAPTER 3**

Murdock decided to make his sick friend some chicken soup. They were all convinced that Face was merely suffering from the flu. Hannibal checked on him at regular intervals to see how he was doing. At first, he was sleeping peacefully but that didn't last very long. When Hannibal checked up on his Lieutenant again after some time, he found the young man thrashing around in his bed. His hair was once again sweat soaked. Hannibal gently touched his forehead only to pull his hand back straight away. The kid was burning up even more than before. He also started to mumble in his sleep.

At first Hannibal hardly understood what Face was saying, until he realized the poor kid was reliving the nightmares of the POW camp in 'Nam.

"It's okay, son," he said trying to soothe his second-in-command. "You're just feverish and you're safe here with me. You're not in 'Nam anymore, kid. It's alright!"

He tried to take Face's temperature and it was up to 104° F by now.

This isn't just the flu, Hannibal thought. Something else is going on. He very gently pulled back the covers on Face's bed and pushed him over so he was lying on his back in bed. Hannibal unbuttoned his pajama top again and noticed that the bruising on his chest had grown even bigger than before. And it didn't look like an ordinary bruise anymore either.

Face started to mumble again but no matter how hard he tried Hannibal couldn't understand a single word he was saying. He ran downstairs to inform the others and decided it was time to call Maggie Sullivan, their doctor. Maggie didn't like the condition Face was in as Hannibal informed her. She especially didn't like the sky high fever and the growing, odd looking bruise he described her. She promised she would drive straight up to the cabin they were at. Meanwhile, she told the guys to apply cold compresses to Face's neck and chest to cool him down and to try and lower his fever. As he wasn't responsive, they couldn't give him anymore tablets to swallow.

It did take another 3 hours before Maggie finally arrived. Hannibal ran downstairs to meet up with her and to brief her on Face's condition while Murdock stayed with his best friend. No matter what they had tried, they couldn't lower his temperature. Face was unconscious and delirious by now and the bruising had grown even more. Maggie followed Hannibal upstairs to the bedroom to check on her patient. Face looked awful and was sleeping restlessly. Maggie started by taking his temperature and pulse. Face was nearly dehydrated due to his fever and Maggie decided to put him on an IV with fluid and a fever reducer to lower his body temperature. Afterwards she examined her patient and especially the odd bruising forming on his chest which was growing bigger according to his friends. Maggie had never in her entire career seen any kind of bruising like that.

"I have no clue what this is, but I don't like the bruising one bit," she said. "I do know that this isn't an ordinary virus it's certainly not the flu. I'll need to draw blood and send it to the lab."

She did just that and decided to check the bruising one more time and very thoroughly before she drove up to the lab with the blood sample. While thoroughly checking, she found something very strange.

"That's odd. There seems to be a tiny puncture wound on his chest. It looks like a needle puncture of some sort," she explained while pointing the wound out to Hannibal.

"What? A needle puncture wound? That's odd. Well. Our last client was a tattoo artist and we did end up fighting the scumbags in his shop. Maybe the thug punctured Face with the tattoo needle. But he never told us that. He must have felt something."

"If it happened while fighting, he might not have noticed what was going on," Maggie answered. "He probably felt a sting of some sort, but forgot about it. But there is something else."

"What? You mean there's more. Oh poor, Facey. He'll be okay, won't he?"

"I hope so, Murdock. I'll do the best I can for him anyway. But this bruising worries me. It looks nothing like tattoo ink to me. But we'll have to wait for his bloodwork to come back. I'll drive up there myself and I'll try to be back with the results as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I need you guys to make sure he keeps getting fluid. If the bag is empty, I need you to replace it. Can you do that?"

"Yep, no problem."

"The same goes for the fever reducer. And keep an eye on his condition. If anything whatsoever changes, give me a call. Okay?"

"We ain't leavin' him alone. We'll take care of him Littl' Momma. Don't ya worry."

Maggie left a little while later with the blood sample and the guys all stayed in the room with Face. They replaced the empty bags when needed, but Face's fever remained sky high no matter what. Everyone was getting super worried now about their unconscious teammate. When the phone suddenly rang, they all jumped to their feet. Hannibal picked it up as he suspected it would be Maggie.

"Hannibal, I've got his results back. It's not good. Face has been injected with a poison of some sort. It is spreading rapidly through his body. That's why the bruise seems to be growing. He needs urgent treatment at the hospital. The lab is trying to trace the exact poison which has been used on him as we speak and we'll hope to have an answer when you arrive here with him. There is no ambulance available at the moment. Can you bring him here in the van?"

"Yes, we'll manage Maggie. We'll be there in 15 minutes tops. We'll leave right away."

"That's great. We'll be waiting for you. Drive safely."

"We will."

Hannibal quickly explained what was going on. B.A. carried his slim team mate down the stairs and laid him down in the back of the van. Murdock was already sitting down, so Face could rest his head on his best friend's lap. Hannibal sat in his usual spot in the front and B.A. drove. He drove as fast as he could as he was worried sick about Face's condition. Hannibal constantly turned around in his seat to check on Face. Murdock tried to make the ride as comfortable as possible for his friend which wasn't at all easy.

Fifteen minutes later, B.A. parked the van in front of the hospital and Maggie and some other doctors and nurses came running outside of the emergency room. The guys tried to unload Face from the van and laid him down on a gurney. The nurses wheeled the gurney inside the hospital and the team followed closely. Maggie had explained everything already and so they were allowed to be with Face.

The doctor examined him and decided that he still needed fluid and a fever reducer. His pulse was slow and his blood pressure low. Luckily, he could still breathe normally on his own. He was still unconscious. Face was transferred to the ICU so his condition could be monitored closely. The lab was still busy looking for the kind of poison being used. Maggie decided to stay with Face and the team. She noticed how worried they all were about their youngest team member.

"Try not to worry," she said trying to calm them down somehow. "He is very strong and up to now he was a very healthy young man. He'll pull through. We just have to stay positive. That's all! The lab is doing their best to find out what's making him this sick. Once we know what's going on, we can start a proper treatment."

"I can't lose you, Facey. I just can't. You're my buddy. My best friend in the whole wide world."

"We know, Murdock. We all need him as a team mate and as a friend. We're all he has and we'll stick with him. I know he's a strong kid and I'm positive he'll pull through."

"Yeah, fool. He ain't gonna leave you or us."

The team was allowed to stay with Face overnight and Maggie also kept them company and kept a firm eye on her patient. There was no change in his condition. Face was still pale looking and feverish. Whenever he became restless in his sleep, one of the guys stood up and cared for him until he relaxed again. Maggie was genuinely touched. They did care a whole lot for one another.

When morning came, the guys had hardly slept. But they refused to leave Face alone in the hospital. With breakfast came good news. Face was finally able to open his eyes again.

"Heya, kid. How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," he muttered.

"You're in the hospital, Face. You were poisoned. Do you remember one of the scumbags jam a needle in your chest?"

"Uh … What?"

"One of those goons you were fighting with stuck you with a poisoned tattoo needle. We're trying to find out what the poison is, so we can start treating you. You are feverish and we managed to somehow control the fever for now," Maggie explained.

"I don't feel that well," he stammered.

"What's the matter, son. Is it your stomach?"

Face only nodded turning a light shade of green. It didn't take long before a couple of nurses stormed into his room. One handed him a container straight away and another stood beside him to run a hand through his hair. The one who had handed him the container softly stroked his arm. And Face? Well, he did his absolute best to look as pathetic as possible with all the attention he got.

Murdock face palmed, B.A. rolled his eyes and Hannibal merely smirked. Maggie tried her utmost best not to burst out laughing.

"Are you feeling better, Mr. Peck?" One of the nurses asked.

"No, I feel awful," Face whined.

"Oh your poor thing," the nurse said. "Can I get you anything? A glass of water maybe?"

"That would be nice," he answered while looking at the other one with cute puppy dog eyes.

"I'll stay with you," she said smiling sweetly. "Anything else I can do for you?"

The first nurse had disappeared by now and Face was ready for his next move.

"Could you just keep doing what you were doing earlier?" He asked sweetly.

"Sure," she said.

Hannibal just had to smile at that. His Lieutenant sure seemed to be doing better if he could flirt with the nurses again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** **I'm sorry it took a while to update. Been re-writing until I was satisfied enough to post. I do hope you'll like the update.**

 **CHAPTER 4**

The nurses had resumed their job as soon as Face seemed to be doing well again.

"Well, kid. You sure haven't lost your touch," Hannibal said smiling. "I'm sure you're feeling better with all the attention you just got."

"Yeah. I guess so," Face sighed.

"What's the matter, kid?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. I just hate being in a hospital. You know that, Hannibal. I really rather be going home."

"That's not an option for now I'm afraid, Face," Maggie explained. "You're still running a fever at the moment and we don't know what poison you were injected with. We have to closely monitor your condition especially since you just got sick."

"Oh that …. That's nothing. Really! I just have a weak stomach, I guess."

"Well, I don't wanna take any risks so for now you're staying here."

"Oh come on. Hannibal?"

"My hands are tied here, kid. Maggie is the expert. Now if you ask me, you don't look too good."

"I'm fine."

"You know, usually when you say you're fine you're not. So you're not. Are you?"

"Murdock! I just told you, I'm …"

"You ain't fine, Jack. We can tell."

"Look, Face. You're very pale, there is the fever part and you still have that ugly bruising on your chest. We have to be careful. Now, I know you hate to be locked up inside so why don't you guys take him outside in the garden for a little while as to get a fresh nose. Would you like that, Temp?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

Face pushed back the covers on his bed and attempted to get out of bed.

"What ya doin', Face? You ain't supposed to get out of bed."

"What? But we were going out for a while …"

"Yes, Lieutenant, we are. But you're still sick. Remember? So, there won't be any walking on your part."

"But, how …"

"You'll be sitting in a wheelchair, kid."

"Oh come on, Hannibal. I can walk on my own, you know."

Maggie already re-entered the hospital room with a wheelchair.

"You either get in or you ain't goin'. Now what'll it be?"

Face hated wheelchairs about as much as he hated hospitals, but he knew B.A. wasn't kidding. If he wanted to get out into the fresh air, he would have to get into the wheelchair. He nodded his head and Hannibal and B.A. helped him from his bed into the wheelchair. Maggie made sure that his IV was also hooked to the wheelchair.

"Can I push you around, Facey? Can I? Can I?"

"Yeah, okay. Just be careful, will you?"

The guys made their way downstairs and into the hospital's garden, while Maggie decided to check on the lab's progress concerning the poison. The Californian weather was really nice and Face enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his skin. For a while things were going very well. Hannibal and B.A. decided to get some drinks and grab some food for all of them and left Murdock alone with Face. Murdock was telling some sort of crazy story to his best friend when all of a sudden his head limply fell to his side and he had his eyes closed.

"You're lucky, you know, Facey. You must be really tired so I forgive you for falling asleep on me. But only because you're sick."

Hannibal and B.A. returned just now with all the beverages and drinks.

"What's going on, Murdock?"

"Oh nothing, Colonel. I was just telling Facey here a story and he fell asleep on me. I'm telling ya he's lucky he's still sick."

"It ain't lookin' like he's sleepin', man."

"You're right, B.A."

"What? No! He's just … Facey?"

Hannibal got down on his knees in front of his Lieutenant and slapped him in the face.

"Face? Face? Can you hear me, kid? Come on. Open up your eyes for me."

Face didn't budge.

"Come on, kid. Try! At least try. Come on, son. You were doing so damn well."

Still he didn't budge.

"Lieutenant, do I have to make it an order?"

But still Face didn't respond.

"Come on, Temp. What's wrong with you, son?"

"He still ain't movin', Hannibal. This is bad, man."

"Colonel … I … I … I don't know how this could have happened. I …"

"It ain't your fault, fool. It's them scumbags. I wanna punch them in the nose for hurtin' Face."

"B.A. is right, Captain. It wasn't your fault. Now let's get him in and get Maggie to take a look at him."

B.A. grabbed the wheelchair and nearly ran back in. Hannibal ran in first together with Murdock and they almost bumped into Maggie on the way up to Face's room.

"What's going on?"

"We don't know, Mags. Murdock was telling him some sort of story and he thought he fell asleep, but we can't seem to wake him up."

They hurriedly made their way up to Face's room. B.A. picked up his teammate and laid him back in bed. Face was still out. Maggie noticed that his blood pressure was low while his heart was racing and his fever had gone up again too.

"This is not good," she muttered. "I think he's having a relapse. That happens sometimes. People seem to be doing well for a little while only to get even worse afterwards. The lab still wasn't able to pinpoint the type of poison being used here. They are doing the best they can. I just hope we're not running out of time."

"Is there anything we can do, Maggie?"

"Not right now I'm afraid. But stay with him, John. Talk to him, comfort him and be there for him. He needs you guys right now."

And that's exactly what the team did. They never left Face's side and kept talking to him and being there for him. But his condition did not improve at all. And his teammates grew ever more worried. The lab was still doing its utmost best to find the poison responsible for this mess, but they were not successful. As time passed, Face seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.

His fever had risen even further. He was very pale by now and his facial features showed that he was in a lot of pain. His blond hair was sweat soaked and beads of sweat were apparent on his face too. Maggie examined him once more, since he seemed to be breathing with great difficulty all of a sudden. She decided to put him on oxygen just to be safe. Hannibal looked at his second-in-command worriedly. The kid looked awful and he just felt powerless. He hated to see the youngest member of his team in such a state and it pained him that he couldn't do anything to help him. The lab still had no clue as to what the drug was that caused all these problems and the doctors were expecting the worse. If Face didn't get the appropriate antidote very soon, they would lose him and losing Face was no option to the team.

"John, he's not doing well," Maggie said. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but it is the truth. His condition is deteriorating every minute and we can only try to ease his pain and make him comfortable, but if we don't find out what it is that's in his system we'll lose him. I'm so sorry."

"No. There has to be something we can do. I can't lose Facey. He is my best friend. We're family. We need him. He is part of this team. And he is too young to die. Way too young. He can't … There is still so much to do. He wants … He always dreamt of raising a family of his own, because …"

"Don't give up on him yet, Captain. You know Face. He is a strong kid. And as you've mentioned, we're a team. I won't leave anyone behind and we'll fight to get that antidote from these scumbags even if it's the last thing I do."

"Yeah, man. They ain't gonna take Face away from us. That ain't gonna happen. I'll punch them all to the ground. Don't cha worry, fool."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Maggie and the doctors and nurses at the hospital kept a close eye on Face's condition, but he was getting worse at a fast pace. And still the lab came up blank. They were running out of time and Hannibal needed to think of a plan urgently. Losing his second-in-command was just not an option.

"We have to do somethin', Hannibal. I hate to see Facey suffer like this."

"You're right, Captain. We need to go after these scumbags ourselves and get a hold of that antidote and we don't have much time."

"Hannibal, I really don't think it's wise to leave Face alone. Not right now. What if his condition gets even worse? He'll need you and your support. He looks up to you like a father. You must know that. You can't leave him behind. You promised him you would always be there for him."

"I'm not abandoning him and I'm not just leaving him, Mags. I'm trying to save his life. We need to get our hands on that antidote in order to save his life. The kid will understand that. I would do anything for him and he knows it. I would give my life for him."

"We all would, Hannibal. It just ain't right that he's sufferin' like this. When I get my hands on that sucker …"

"Murdock, here is what we'll do. B.A. and I will chase that scum and get back here on the double. I think you should stay here with Face to keep him company and watch over him. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah, Colonel. I sure can. I won't leave his side until you guys get back."

Hannibal softly patted Murdock on the shoulder. Afterwards he walked up to Face's hospital bed and sat down beside him grabbing his hand in his.

"Hang in there, kid. I know it's a little rough on you right now, but you know we won't let you down. We'll get you that antidote and you'll get better. I just know you will! You just have to hold on for me a little while longer until we get back. Can you do that, son? I'll leave Murdock here with you to keep you company. All you have to do is fight, kid. That's all I ask. Just fight this as hard as you can . I need you, son. We all do. You are part of this tight-knit family."

To put emphasis to his words, he gently squeezed Face's limp hand. As soon as Hannibal and B.A. left, Murdock took a seat next to his best friend.

"Don't worry, Facey. I won't leave your side until the Colonel and the Big Angry Mudsucker return with your antidote. I'll be here for you, buddy. And Maggie is here too. She's keepin' an eye on you."

While Murdock talked to his best friend, Maggie gently stroked his cheek or ran her hand through is hair. Face hardly looked like his usual handsome self. He was pale, pain was etched on his facial features, his beautiful blond hair was sweat soaked and then there was the nasty looking, still growing bruise on his chest that had her worried. She missed his dazzling smile and his twinkling eyes and she longed to hear him talk. Now the handsome conman was lying in a hospital bed with IV's of all kinds in his arms and a respiratory tube down his throat to help him breathe easier.

Thank God he has his best friend with him, Maggie thought. She watched as Murdock kept on talking to Face. She remembered Hannibal telling her that Face had no relatives and that he grew up in an orphanage. He only had the team to rely on. He was merely a kid when he ended up on Hannibal's team as a young officer, but he managed to get through the war somehow. When they were falsely accused, Hannibal had taken the young man under his wing. He was proud of the man Face had become over the years. Even a blind man could tell.

"When you're all better again, you can drive the 'Vette around town or maybe take me to the beach with you one day. You'll have to spring me from the V.A., but well … you do that all the time. Maybe I can even bunk in with you for a coupl' of days. I'd like that. Wouldn't you? We can even double date. Hey I'll even go shoppin' with you to one of those fancy stores you always love to go to. I'll do anything just to have my best friend back."

Maggie had to blink back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She wished she could do more for Face. She decided to call the lab again, but they still had no result. Maggie was really worried now. Face had a fever she couldn't keep under control, his blood pressure was low and he was breathing superficially and with great difficulty. She had no idea of the damage the poison was doing to his body.

"Hurry up, John. Please just hurry up," she whispered softly hoping Murdock wouldn't overhear her and get all upset.

Meanwhile in the van, Hannibal was working on a plan. He knew they were running out of time and he also knew that his plan just had to work. He was not about to lose a member of his team.

"Man, Hannibal. I ain't never seen him look this bad. You'd better have a plan. One that works, 'cause we ain't got that much time."

"I'm working on it, B.A. But first things first. We need to get back to our client. He testified against those scumbags, so he'll know where we can find them."

"Yeah, in jail."

"That's right. But which one? We need to find out in order to get in there and get that antidote."

"Oh man. You're on the jazz again. Hannibal, it ain't wise to visit no jail."

"We have no choice. We need to get to these sleeze bags. They've stashed that antidote somewhere and I need to get my hands on that to save Face."

"I know, Hannibal. I want to save Face too. But how are we gonna pull that off?"

"Simple. We let them arrest us."

"What? You're even nuttier than Murdock, Hannibal. You're crazy. How are we gonna help Face when we're thrown in jail."

"We look for that scum inside and get the antidote. Once we have it, we just get out of there. Piece of cake."

"Don't let Faceman here you say that. I don't like this plan of yours, Hannibal. What if it don't work?"

"Oh it's gonna work."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

After visiting their client again and telling him what had happened, they found out where the bad guys were being held in prison. They were still at the local jail waiting to be transferred to another bigger facility.

Hannibal had explained his plan to their client, and he came up with an even better idea. Apparently he had a good relationship with the local sheriff and he was sure he could convince him to 'lock' B.A. and Hannibal in without notifying the military if they let him in on the full story. Hannibal agreed and so they all went into the Sheriff's office and explained him what was going on. The Sheriff happily wanted to co-operate with the team.

Part one of Hannibal's plan had worked. They were thrown in jail. Now all they had to do was search for the scumbags that tried to murder their Lieutenant. But this proved to be a far bigger challenge than Hannibal thought it would be.

Meanwhile at the hospital Face's condition was getting worse. His fever was sky high and although Maggie and the team at the hospital did their utmost best they couldn't get it to lower down anymore. Due to the fever, he had lost consciousness a while ago. Maggie noticed that the bruise on his chest still kept growing meaning that the poison was spreading through his already weakened body. Maggie looked at the pale looking Lieutenant. His handsome facial features showed he was in a lot of pain. Maggie tenderly ran a hand through the sweat soaked blond hair. She felt so helpless.

"What is it?" Murdock asked. He was still sitting at his best friend's side

"Murdock, I don't know how to tell you this …," she started.

"No. It isn't true. It can't be. I can't lose Face. I just can't. You gotta do something for him."

"I'm doing the best I can, Murdock. There is no way in telling how the poison will affect his organs. I do know that Temp is a strong young man and that he loves you guys. I think you can help him by talking to him. He needs to hear your voice to keep fighting this."

"I can do that. Isn't that right, Facey? You love to hear me talk, don't you?"

Murdock squeezed his best friend's shoulder. You could tell just how much he loved the young Lieutenant. Maggie had to swallow hard to keep the tears from falling. She had known the team for a while now and she grew attached to all of them and not only Hannibal. She knew it would break his heart to lose his second-in-command. Maggie silently prayed that Hannibal and B.A. would find the antidote fast and that Face would be able to hold on that long.

 _Hannibal and B.A. were busy trying to locate the scumbag that could have hurt Face_.

They tried to keep an eye out during lunch, dinner and the other little breaks when the prisoners were allowed to walk around. But they had not been able to spot the guys until now. With the clock ticking, they knew they had to search more thoroughly. It was once again time to have lunch and Hannibal and B.A. decided to sit at the far end to have a good view of the complete surroundings.

"Hannibal," B.A. called out. "Isn't that them?"

B.A. had spotted a familiar looking group of people sneaking into the room. Apparently they came from the kitchen area somewhere. Hannibal carefully looked up from his plate and immediately felt his anger rising.

"You're right, B.A.," he said through clenched teeth. "That's the scum were looking for."

"What do we do now, Hannibal?"

"We have to draw them out somehow. Let's collect their plates after lunch and let's just say we'll do it the clumsy way to initiate a fight."

"Right!"

They quickly ate their meals and stood up to collect the plates from the other inmates. To make sure the bad guys wouldn't start to get suspicious, they started at the very end of the table they were sitting at. By the time they arrived at the right place, Hannibal signaled B.A. to be ready. He spilled the content of one of the plates all over the leader of the group.

"Hey," the man yelled jumping up from his seat. "What do you think you're doin', stupid."

"Oh I'm sorry," Hannibal answered smiling broadly. "I guess you can say I'm clumsy."

"You call that clumsy?" The man yelled again frantically wiping the food from his prison overalls. "I say you're picking a fight and you did that on purpose to trigger one."

"Well," said Hannibal," since you put two and two together …"

He lashed out straight away. The other goons also got up from the table to help their leader, but they hadn't counted on B.A. The guys soon at the upper hand due to the anger boiling in their veins over what they did to their team mate. But they also knew they couldn't do a thing right here. Luckily for them, the Sheriff had kept an eye on everything and he had ordered his Deputies to bring all of the men involved in the fighting to his Office. The goons still had no clue that Hannibal and B.A. were two members of the Team that had them thrown in jail. That altered quickly as soon as they were safely inside of the Sheriff's office.

"Is that them?" The Sheriff asked Hannibal while handing him his gun.

He and his Deputies kept their guns aimed at all of the goons.

"They sure are," he answered angrily. "You don't remember us, do you? We're the ones that got you thrown into this joint. That's right. You just picked on the wrong honest guy opening a tattoo shop."

"What are you gonna do now. Shoot us?" One of the men replied.

"As much as I'd love to blow a hole in you or beat you to a pulp right here and now, I'm not gonna do that. Yet!"

"Must mean that pretty blond boy isn't dead yet," the man answered laughing sadistically.

B.A. smacked him hard against the wall leaving the guy dazed for a few minutes.

"You have a big mouth on you, scumbag," Hannibal said in an ice cold voice. "But I'll tell you this. You don't mess with us unless you wanna start harassing Saint Peter up there in the near future. Now, we know you deliberately poisoned Lieutenant Peck."

"Lieutenant? Really? You've gotta be kidding me? He was an easy target. Not much of a fighter is he, that pretty boy Lieutenant of yours."

"You ain't know nothin' 'bout Face, Jack."

Again B.A. smacked the thug hard against the wall. He hated people calling his friend a 'pretty boy'. Face was much more than just a handsome young man

"That's right. Now, unless you want to become good friends with the wall behind you and have whatever miniature brain that's stuck inside that big skull of yours splattered all over it I suggest you tell us just what you've used on our team mate."

When he didn't react but merely smirked, Hannibal pointed his gun at his head and held his finger to the trigger pushing the man up against the wall.

"You don't think I'm serious, do you? Well let me break it to ya. I'm a nutcase. I don't care what happens to scum like you and I just might enjoy blowing a hole through that dumb skull of yours. You don't poison one of my team. Got that! Now, what will it be, punk. You either tell me what you used and where you hid the antidote or it all ends here."

"You wouldn't," the man tried once more. "Not with them here to witness it all."

He gestured with his head towards the Sheriff and the Deputies.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," the Sheriff answered him. "I don't like your kind blackmailing, threatening and poisoning the people of my town. Scum like you should be dealt with accordingly."

To put emphasis to his words, he also pulled back the trigger of his gun as well as his Deputies.

"But …," the man said visibly paling.

"We're the law. We can do anything we please," the Sheriff said.

"Okay. Alright. I'll talk. Don't shoot. Please don't shoot."

Hannibal roughly smashed the guy against the wall once more and grabbed him by the collar of his overall.

"Now what did you do to my Lieutenant?"

"I … I … I …"

"Start talkin', Jack. We ain't got all day."

"I underestimated him. He was much stronger than he appeared to be and he was getting the upper hand in the fight. I had to do something to gain the upper hand. So I let him throw the next punch and let myself fall down on the floor. I pretended to be groggy so he would leave me out of his sight which he did. I managed to grab a tattoo needle and dip it into the bottle of poison I had in my jacket pocket. I hid the needle as I got up so I could access it easily. He turned back around and I've managed to punch him in the face and left him dazed for a while. That's when I was able to grab the needle and stick him with it."

"That's a start. You actually confessed stabbing him with the needle. Now what poison did you use?"

"I don't know. I know nothing about poison. It's just some bottle they gave me with stuff that's supposed to stop the body from functioning. That's all I know."

"That ain't enough, Jack."

"No, wait. It's the truth. Honest. But there is an antidote. I haven't got it, but I know there is one."

"Where, fool."

"It's in a warehouse. The address is scribbled down on a piece of paper in my wallet. If you give me my wallet, I'll show you."

The Sheriff sent one of his Deputies out to get the man's wallet and he showed them piece of paper.

"They've stashed it somewhere in the warehouse. I don't know where exactly."

"You're coming with us to look for that antidote and you'd better hope and pray we find it. Or else I just might have to take my anger out on you and I'm pretty sure you're not gonna like that, pal"

Hannibal and B.A. hurried out of the prison with the goon and raced to the van.

"Hit it, B.A. We have to find that antidote before we're too late."

 _Murdock was still talking to his best friend while holding onto his hand, when he felt the spasm flow through his body._

"Facey? What's the matter? What's wrong, buddy?"

Maggie was by his side in a matter of seconds.

"What is it, Murdock?"

"Spasms."

"Oh no."

Maggie pushed back the blankets covering Face's slender form and she took out her stethoscope to listen to his heart. His heartbeat was very irregular and she also noticed the spasms of his body. Maggie knew his body was shutting down. She gently touched Face's forehead and felt the heat radiating from it.

"What? What is it? What's happening to him, Maggie?"

"Murdock. Face's body is reacting towards the poison. He's still fighting, but I don't know how long he will be able to do so. He has a strong heart and we can only hope and pray he'll be able to keep fighting this until Hannibal and B.A. return, but ... The only thing I can do for him right now is make sure he's comfortable and take the pain away."

"You mean give him morphine."

"Yes. I'm sorry, Murdock. I don't want to let him go either, but I think we need to accept it. I know it's hard. It is hard for me too. But … If we can't do anything more for him, he'll die."

Murdock shook his head unable to form another word. He couldn't believe he would lose his best friend. His brown eyes filled with tears and he let them run freely. Maggie did the same thing as she hugged the distressed pilot. Murdock let go of her again and grabbed a hold of his best friend's limp hand.

"Don't be afraid, buddy. I'm not leaving your side. You're not alone," Murdock whispered hoarsely. "We'll fight this together."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

The medical team gathered around Face's hospital bed and despite not understanding a word they were saying Murdock knew something was seriously wrong.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on? Face is my best friend. My brother. I want to know what's happening to him."

Murdock could see his friend struggle with every breath he took.

"Your friend is septic," one of the doctors replied.

"Septic. I don't like the sound of that. I don't like it at all. What is it? What's going on?"

"I'll try and explain it to you, Murdock," Maggie started. "Face's condition is very serious and very dangerous too. He is suffering from what we call blood poisoning. It's an overall inflammatory condition of his body which means his body is unable to cope with its own reaction. His blood pressure is very low and his blood flow is failing meaning that his lungs and liver aren't working properly anymore. That is what we call septic shock. More organs such as his brain could start to fail as well."

"How do you know he's septic? Maybe he isn't. Maybe …"

"We're sure about this, Murdock. There are some significant symptoms."

Maggie softly took a hold of Face's hand.

"Take a look at his fingertips."

"They're all purplish. Why didn't I notice that before?"

"That's right. And so are his toes. And take a closer look at his arms and legs."

"What happened to them? Facey normally has skinny arms and legs."

"There is fluid in his limbs which causes them to swell. That's why. Fluid is leaking from his blood vessels and there's fluid on his lungs too. That's why he's having trouble breathing right now and that's why we keep him on oxygen to help him breathe easier."

"Now what?"

"As I said before, Murdock. We can't do much I'm afraid. We're giving him oxygen as well as fluid and he's got an IV with antibiotics too. We're also supporting his breathing and his blood flow and the morphine should help him deal with the pain. Time is everything. The only chance he has, is when Hannibal and B.A. return very quickly with that antidote."

"Or else?"

"His body will shut down completely … until he passes away."

"We can't let that happen. Hannibal will come up with a plan. He just got to come up with a plan. Face is one of ours. We need him. Isn't there anything we can do for him? Anything at all?"

"Keep talking to him, Murdock. Let him know he's loved and needed. That's about all you can do for him, I'm afraid."

"It's not fair. It's just not fair. He's been through so much already. First his parents abandon him and leave him at the doorsteps of an orphanage. His true love walks out on him when he wants to propose to her. That's why he dropped out of college and enlisted in the army. He went through hell during that war and the camps and everything only to be betrayed by the country he so loyally served. He's been forced to live the life of a fugitive for years when I know all he wants is to lead a normal life. He wants to get married, have kids, a dog, a big house in a nice neighborhood, all of that. He didn't even get a chance and he so deserves one. He's far too young to die, Maggie. We can't let that happen."

 _B.A. drove as fast as he possible could without crashing his precious van to the warehouse. Hannibal decided to call the hospital to check on Face and tell them about their progress so far in their search for the antidote._

Maggie picked up the phone.

"What's going on, Mags? How is he doing?"

"To be honest, John, he is not doing well at all. His condition is serious and he is deteriorating fast as his organs are starting to fail. There's nothing much we can do for him, but make sure he's in no pain. He is on morphine, John. I don't know how long we can keep him alive …"

"You have to try and do just that, Maggie. We've located the scumbag that did this to him and he has told us where we can look for the antidote."

"You haven't got it yet?"

"No, but we will soon. We're nearly there and will tear the place apart if we have to until we get that antidote. Tell Murdock to hang in there. I'll call you when we get it."

"Hurry, John. For Temp's sake, please hurry."

Hannibal hung up the phone and felt his anger rising.

"What's goin' on, Hannibal?" B.A. asked worriedly.

"Face's condition is deteriorating fast. We don't have much time or we'll lose him."

"Oh, man."

Hannibal angrily turned towards the bad guy and grabbed him by the collar of his overall again.

"Listen to me and listen carefully. I suggest you co-operate once we arrive to find that antidote. Got it! We can't afford to lose time and you better hope we'll be on time to save my boy. Otherwise things don't look that good for you, pal."

"Yeah. He ain't kiddin', sucker. You'll have to deal with me when somethin' happens to my littl' brother."

Once they arrived at the warehouse, they nearly jumped out of the car and grabbed the man with them.

"How are we getting' in, Hannibal? We ain't got Face with us. He's the one that picks the locks."

"That's easy, B.A. We haven't got time to lose."

Hannibal grabbed his gun and shot the lock and the door to pieces so they were able to get in. The warehouse was filled with boxes. Hannibal quickly opened one of them and found drugs in it.

"That's not what we're looking for here," he said to B.A. "We have to look elsewhere around the building. Keep an eye out for offices and stuff."

"Right."

Hannibal grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him along with him. He forced the man to go through the office he had found, but they came up empty-handed. B.A. also tore apart an office, but was unsuccessful as well. They kept on going until B.A. yelled Hannibal's name all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"I think I've got somethin'. Looks like a lab of some kind."

Hannibal ran towards the lab taking the man with him. B.A. was already looking for the antidote when his commanding officer joined him.

"Okay, pal. We're here. I suggest you keep your eyes open and find that antidote soon."

The man frantically began to search. B.A. did the same as Hannibal kept his gun pointed at the man. When they were starting to lose all hope in finding it, the man pointed at a glass bottle on a shelf in one of the closets.

"That's it."

"You better be right or you won't live to tell another soul what happened."

"I'm positive. 100%. It should be written on the sticker."

Hannibal grabbed the bottle and read the sticker.

"You're lucky. For now. Let's hit the road, B.A. We have to be in the hospital right away."

"You got it, Hannibal. We'll be there."

B.A. literally drove like a madman in order to save his friend. He parked the van right in front of the emergency entrance. Hannibal jumped out of the van before it stopped clutching the antidote in his hands. He ran inside as fast as he could. B.A. followed soon after dragging the bad guy with him. They all ran straight to Face's room.

Murdock sat next to his best friend frantically holding on to his hand and pressing it against his chest. Maggie stood next to him crying softly. They were still waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Face was starting to struggle with every breathe he took. They all knew he was losing his battle.

"No, Facey. Come on. You can't give up now! You just got to hold on and fight this a little longer. Please. Please. The Colonel has never let us down before and he won't now. Just fight this, please."

Face took another shaky breathe and then his breathing stopped abruptly.

"Oh God. No. No, no, no." Murdock yelled on top of his lungs.

Maggie pressed the button for immediate medical assistance while tears started to flow down her cheeks. She had no idea how to comfort the distressed pilot. All she could do was hope that the doctors would be able to bring him back even if it was just until the team had returned with the actual antidote.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** **Thanks so much for your reviews. I really appreciate all of them** **Also a big thanks to all of the followers. This is a new chapter and I hope you'll all like it. Keep on reviewing ! I'd love to hear from you.**

 **CHAPTER 8**

The medical team came storming into Face's room straight away.

"What happened?" They asked Maggie.

"He stopped breathing," she explained trying her utmost best to keep her emotions under control.

"You've got to do something," Murdock yelled out. "Please, you've got to save him."

The doctor ignored him. He walked up to his patient and took his pulse and checked his heartbeat.

"We've lost him," he stated in an emotionless voice. "Time of death …"

"What? No! That's not true. You've got to bring him back. You've got to! No, Facey. Come on. You can't give up, buddy. You've got to stick with your unit, man. We need you. I need you. I really do need you."

Hannibal heard Murdock yelling and ran even faster towards the room. He stormed in completely out of breathe.

"What's going on here?" He managed to get out.

"I'm sorry to inform you but Mr. Peck has died," the doctor stated.

Hannibal watched as his Captain hugged the lifeless form of his best friend while crying and he noticed Maggie crying as well. His heart sank. He didn't want to believe it nor could he accept losing his second-in-command and youngest team member.

"Bring him back."

"There is no point, sir. We lost him. His organs were failing."

"I don't care what you have to do. I've got the antidote in my hand. Treat him."

"Sir, I can't …"

"Sure you can," Hannibal stated looking at the doctor with ice cold blue eyes and pointing his gun at him. "Or at least try. I can't lose my son. Not while I might be able to save him all together."

The doctor motioned for his team to get the material ready. A cart was wheeled in. The doctor folded the sheet back that covered Face's upper body after peeling Murdock off of his friend's body and the nurse started to put a gel-like substance onto the pedals. The doctor hooked him up to a heart monitor so they could watch what was happening. Meanwhile, he pressed a button on the machine to start the flow of electricity.

Hannibal looked at Face for a moment. He looked a ghostly pale and his lips were tinged slightly blue.

"Hang in there, kid," he whispered. "I can get you out of this mess. I promise. Just hang in there a little while longer, son."

The doctor yelled clear and everyone watched as he put the pedals onto Face's bare chest shocking him back to life. They failed at first.

"Let's try this again," the doctor stated.

"Please, Facey. Breathe. You've got to breathe," Murdock said softly.

B.A. now stood behind him and put a supporting hand on his shoulder. He hated to see his friends suffer.

The pedals were put on Face's chest a second time leaving nasty burn marks on his skin, but still his heart refused to start beating.

"It's no use," the doctor told Hannibal. "You need to accept the fact that Mr. Peck is gone."

"Try once more," he answered.

"Look sir …"

"Do it again."

The doctor nodded at the nurse. She once again put the gel-like substance onto the pedals and the doctor decided to adapt the amount of electricity used.

He sighed deeply and put the pedals once more on Face's chest.

"Don't give up, Lieutenant," Hannibal said out loud. "That's an order. I can't lose you. I love you, son."

His voice broke at the end. Murdock and Maggie were crying and even B.A. had to bite back the tears that threatened to fall.

A faint beeping sound filled the room besides the sniffles. Nobody noticed it at first, until the doctor spoke.

"It worked! We've got him back. His heart is beating again. It's a miracle."

Murdock and Maggie stopped crying and Hannibal wiped away the single tear that threatened to spill from his clear blue eyes and ran over to Face's side. He grabbed his hand in his and squeezed it.

"I knew you could fight this, son," he said in a choked voice. "I just knew you would come back to us."

"He's not out of the woods yet," the doctor explained.

"I understand," Hannibal said while handing the antidote to the man.

"Let's put Mr. Peck on life support and inject him with the antidote. All we can do then is wait and see what will happen and take it from there."

Hannibal sat beside Face as the nurses and doctors started to put him on life support and he watched them work while gently running a hand through Face's blond hair. The doctor injected him with the antidote as well.

"It's alright, son," he soothed. "I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere and neither are Murdock and B.A. and Maggie. You're not alone."

The doctor explained that they would be able to keep a close eye on Face's heart monitor from the nurse's station and he left the group alone to be with their team mate.

For a while nobody said a word. All they did was listen to the faint beeping of the heart monitor and watch the slow rise and fall of Face's bare chest.

"How will we know …," Hannibal started to say. His voice still sounded broken.

"He's alive. That's all that matters now, John," Maggie said. "We need to wait and give his body time to react to the antidote we gave him. Tell you what. Why don't the three of you stay with him and I'll get us some coffee and some milk for B.A. How does that sound?"

Hannibal nodded his head. Maggie slipped out of the room to get the drinks leaving the team alone with Face. She knew they all had a hard time watching Face suffer like this and needed to spend time with him. The room was silent once again. All eyes were on the Lieutenant. He still looked a ghostly pale and his beautiful blond hair was sweat soaked. The bruising on his chest was still visible, but had stopped growing. Apart from that, he had nasty looking burn wounds on his chest.

"God kid, if you could only see yourself now. You look awful," Hannibal said softly breaking the silence. "But at least we have you back with us. I don't know what we would have done without you, son."

"You have to hang in there, Facey. The Colonel's got you the antidote. He saved your life. Thank God. He saved your life. I can't lose my best buddy. I won't. You have to fight this as hard as you can and we know you can. You never gave up before and you can't give up now."

"Yeah, littl' brother. We need you. Ain't no real team without ya. Then who would scam us the nice meals and the good hotel rooms and the fool's planes? We know the fool ain't able to pull it off. Been there before."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Face's mouth.

"Did you see that!" Murdock exclaimed.

"See what, fool? There ain't nothin' to see."

"But there is!"

"He ain't okay, Hannibal. He's startin' to see things again."

"No, B.A. I saw it too," Hannibal said smiling.

"Saw what?"

"Facey. He just smiled or well at least did something that look like smiling to me."

"You're right, Captain. I saw it too."

"I think he can hear us even being unconscious. Right, Facey? Squeeze my hand if you can."

It was very weak, but Murdock could actually feel his friend squeeze his hand.

"We're all here for ya, buddy. And we're so happy to have you back. You have no idea how happy we are. You just rest now. You deserved it the way you fought that poison. Now you can focus on getting all better again."

Maggie entered the room again carrying a tray with coffees and a glass of milk. Hannibal looked at her and she could see the unshed tears in his ice blue eyes. She hurriedly put the tray down and went over to him.

"What is it, John? What's the matter?"

"He just smiled, Mags."

Maggie looked at Face still lying unconscious in the small hospital bed with Murdock sitting beside him holding his best friend's hand in his.

"He did. He did," Murdock said enthusiastically. "And he squeezed my hand too. I think he can hear us."

Maggie walked up to Face and gently ran her hand through his soft blond hair. She had to check the news herself before she could re-assure the team.

"Temp, it's me Maggie. Maggie Sullivan. Do you remember me?"

She now gently caressed his cheek and Face nuzzled closer towards the hand gently stroking his cheek.

"I guess you do," she said smiling. "Let's see how well you're doing. I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to react to them when you can."

She took his hand in hers.

"If you understand what I'm saying, just squeeze my hand."

All eyes were on Face's hand as he very faintly squeezed Maggie's.

"That's it. You're doing great," she said. "Let's check your breathing. Can you try and take a deep breath and exhale slowly for me?"

Face again did as he was told. Maggie asked him a few more questions and Face was able to respond somehow to all of them.

"One last question before you can rest up some more, Temp. Are you in pain? Squeeze my hand once when you're not and twice when you are. Can you do that?"

Face faintly squeezed her hand twice.

"Don't worry. I'll get you something for the pain," she said. "You just rest now. You need a lot of rest to get your strength back."

She gently ran her hand through his hair again and Face faintly smiled.

"And?" Murdock asked all excited.

"This is good news. He seems to be responsive, so that could mean there is no damage to his brain. We'll let him rest for a while longer and then run some tests to see how is body is reacting towards the antidote. Why don't you all go and get some rest too?"

"No. I won't leave him."

"We ain't leavin' him, fool."

"We can rest right here, Mags. I don't want to leave him all alone."

"Facey doesn't like to be alone. Right, buddy? You want us here with you?"

Again Face gently squeezed Murdock's hand.

"Alright. You can all stay with him, but you all need to rest. And I do mean all of you. Especially you, Temp."


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

The team stayed with Face that night and they all had a good night sleep now that he was doing somewhat better. The very next morning, the medical team entered the room to start a battery of tests. The poor kid was nearly turned inside out! Luckily he was still unconscious but responding. The team was anxiously waiting to find out what the verdict would be.

"How is he?" Hannibal asked as soon as the medical team was done testing.

"We've been doing some thorough testing on Mr. Peck. The antidote seems to be doing its work. His temperature is stabilizing and he is able to breath on his own again. We'll be taking him off life-support soon. There are no signs of permanent damage to his lungs, his brain or any other organ for that matter. He is still in pain though, so we'll keep him sedated."

"What about the bruising on his chest?"

"It is still there and we are keeping an eye on that. We do believe it will start vanishing with the antidote in his system, but were not 100% sure about that. We also need to treat the burns on his chest. He is still a very sick young man, but we're hopeful that he'll make a full recovery."

"When will he wake up?"

"That I can't tell I'm afraid. His body is starting to recuperate and it takes all the energy he has right now. He is also heavily drugged up due to the pain he is in. As I said before, we'll be monitoring Mr. Peck's condition very closely. Maybe in a few more days we'll know more. I can re-assure you that he is doing remarkably well considering what he went through."

The team spent the next few days close to Face's side hoping he would wake up any minute now. It was all they could do just being there with him and talking to him. The doctors kept updating them on his condition and he was doing better every day. He was gradually re-gaining his strength and the pain slowly seemed to be fading too. He was taken off the life-support and was breathing on his own. He still had a slight fever and he was still hooked up to several IV's with fluids and antibiotics. Meanwhile, his burns were also treated. But still he hadn't regained consciousness.

Another day had passed and nothing had changed. The team was exhausted and they all tried to get comfortable for the night. But somehow Hannibal couldn't sleep that night. He was still very worried about the condition of his youngest team member, despite what Maggie and the team of doctors told him. What worried him the most was that Face still hadn't woken up. Hannibal grabbed a chair and sat next to Face's bed. He was still sleeping peacefully. Absentmindedly Hannibal ran a hand through Face's blond hair.

"I think you're enjoying this beauty sleep way too much, kid," he whispered softly. "You really should open up those bright blue eyes of yours. I miss you. I miss talking to you and arguing with you. I miss that radiant smile of yours that makes your eyes light up. You mean the world to me, son. I know I'm not always easy on you, but it's because I care about you so very much. You're my Lieutenant, my second-in-command and I trust you with my life. I consider you to be a very close friend after all we've been through together while being on the run. I've watched you grow up and become the fine man you are today and I'm truly proud of you. You might lie, steal and cheat to get the job done, but you're so much more than that. You are very smart and you have a great business instinct, but you also have a heart of pure gold. You would never do anything to hurt people, but rather risk your own hide to safe someone else's. I couldn't be more proud of you. I've never said this out loud before, but I do consider you to be the son I've never had. And it's really hard for me to see you suffer like this, because that's the last thing you deserve. I love you, son. I always will. And I'm here for you when you need me."

Hannibal had grabbed a hold of Face's limp hand while talking to him. The emotions mixed with the lack of proper sleep took its toll on him. A single tear silently made its way down the tough Colonel's cheek and he let it roll as nobody saw it anyway. Hannibal bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut to try and get a grip when a small moan was heard in the room. Immediately Hannibal looked up.

"Kid? Is that you?"

Another moan escaped Face's lips.

"It's okay, Face. We've got you to the hospital. You're gonna be fine."

Face tried to open his eyes.

"That's it, kid. Open up those blue eyes of yours. You can do it. I know you can. Come on."

Face struggled some more to open up his eyes until he finally managed to do so for a short while. Meanwhile B.A. and Murdock had woken up to. They stood right beside Hannibal at Face's hospital bed. Two unfocused blue eyes peered at the team and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Hi there, kid."

His eyelids kept on slipping shut and Face did his utmost best to keep them open.

"Take it easy, littl' brother."

He was starting to get a little restless by now.

"Hey, Facey. Calm down. It's okay. Take your time. You have all the time in the world."

"Murdock is right, son. You need to slow your breathing or you'll start to hyperventilate."

But Face couldn't calm down. He somehow wanted to express what was going on. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. Yet he had to let them know what was happening.

"S-s-s-i-ck."

It came out so weakly nobody even heard he said something. He had to notify them and quickly.

"S-s-s-s-i-c-k-k."

Still nobody seemed to understand what he was trying to say. He desperately tried his body to keep from doing what it was planning to do, but failed miserably. He was far too weak to stop things anyway.

"Facey?" Murdock noticed at first that something was bothering his best friend. "Do you think you're gonna be sick?"

Face blinked his eyes as an answer to his best friend. Murdock grabbed a container from the table while Hannibal gently helped Face to sit up in his bed. He held him while his body convulsed heavily as he threw up.

"Oh, man. He ain't never been good with them drugs."

"We should have known he would react to the morphine. Remember how sick he got when he was treated in HQ after the camps in 'Nam?"

Hannibal tried his utmost best to support his weak Lieutenant the best he could. The poor guy was exhausted and still his body didn't stop convulsing all together. Hannibal noticed how his eyes slipped shut for a few seconds before his body was hit with another wave of nausea.

"Oh, man. This ain't good. He ain't gonna be able to keep up no more soon. I'm getting' Maggie."

"Good idea, B.A."

B.A. ran out of the room and rushed back in with Maggie soon after.

"What is it? What's happening?" Maggie asked.

She immediately got her answer as she noticed Face throwing up. Hannibal practically had to completely support his bodyweight.

"Oh you poor thing," she said as she ran up to Face. "How long has this been going on?"

"For a while now," Hannibal answered her. "He has a tendency to react badly towards medication and especially to morphine. I just don't know where all this is coming from. He hardly has anything left in his body and he's exhausted."

"Yes, so I've noticed. I'll give him something to stop the nausea so he can get some much needed rest."

She walked out of the room and came back minutes later with yet another syringe. It wasn't easy for her to administer the injection. Hannibal was still trying to support Face's weakened frame and hold him up while his body was trembling and convulsing all at the same time.

"Temp, it's me Maggie," she said soothingly. "It's alright. You're just having a bad reaction towards the morphine. I'm going to inject you with something that will help you get rid of the nausea. Okay? If you can just try to hold still, I can administer the injection and you can get some rest again."

She softly caressed his cheek. Face desperately tried to stop his body from shivering, but it wasn't easy. Finally Maggie managed to inject him. Hannibal held him up a little longer and Maggie kept on caressing his cheek. The convulsions diminished and Face's body started to relax somewhat in the Colonel's arms.

"It's okay, kid. It's all over. Now you just close your eyes and get some rest."

Face managed a weak smile and closed his eyes. He was fast asleep within seconds. Hannibal kept a close eye on his second-in-command as he was still very worried about him.

"He'll be alright now, John. I've been discussing his condition with the medical team and he is slowly getting better. The antidote has done its job and now he merely needs to get his strength back. We're going to keep him in the hospital for a couple more days under observation and he might have to have one more operation. Afterwards, you can take him home with you but he'll need to rest some more."

When Face woke up the very next morning, he noticed that the entire team and Maggie were with him. He blinked and looked around the room. Where was he? How did he even get here?

"Hi, kid. Good to have you back?"

"Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital, Facey. Do you remember what happened?"

"Hospital? Why? Uh … what?"

"We were on a case with a tattoo artist. Remember that?"

"I can't … remember. Wait. I got punched …"

"Not just that, kid."

"You was stabbed with one of them needles. We nearly lost you. You was dyin'."

"Huh?"

"We were too late. Your heart stopped beating. But the doctors managed to get you back."

"You're kidding me, right? Oh boy. I've just had the 'Vette tuned and …"

"Face …"

"My heart … stopped. No. It can't be. I'm perfectly healthy and I'm in good shape. Really, I am."

"Face! Listen to me. You'll be okay, son. We got you the antidote and you're recovering right now. So stop worrying. You just had a bad reaction to the morphine last night and ended up getting nauseous. The doctors want to keep you under observation for a couple more days just to be safe."

"Do I really have to stay here? I hate hospitals."

"I know you do, kid, but you need to stay a bit longer. We'll be right here with you."

"They have real cute nurses, Facey. I'm sure they'll love to take care of you."

"They do?"

"They sure do, kid. Lots of young blond nurses. I bet you're feeling a whole lot better already. And they'll be happy too to see you've regained consciousness. Now is there anything we can get for you?"

"Yeah. Something to eat. I'm starving."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit. I don't think you have anything left in your system after last night."

"Huh?"

"You threw up, kid. You sure don't do well with drugs."

There was a knock on the door. One of the young blond nurses came walking in carrying a tray with breakfast.

"Oh Mr. Peck," she said softly. "I see you're finally awake. Would you care for some breakfast too?"

"I sure do," he answered smiling his million dollar smile.

"I'll go and get you some in a minute," she said.

Face watched as she distributed breakfast to his team mates. She left his room and came back a little while later with Face's breakfast. He noticed straight away that his breakfast wasn't the same as what his team mates got.

"What's this?" He said gesturing at his plate.

"You only get to have a light breakfast this morning, Mr. Peck, due to your stomach problems. We can't have you getting sick again. We have some toast for you and a nice cup of tea."

"Tea? What about bringing me some coffee?"

"I can't do that, Mr. Peck. I'm sorry. Those are doctor's orders. "

"So this is it. This is all I get? I'm nearly starving."

"For now, yes. I'm sorry. We have to make sure that you can digest a light meal first, before you can have regular food again. We also serve a light lunch with some soup and toast and you should drink plenty of water too."

"Oh great. My tailor is really gonna love this. I've just bought a bunch of new expensive designer clothes and now they just won't fit me anymore. They'll all be too big …"

"Oh stop complaining, Face."

"I'm hungry, Hannibal. I'm really hungry. And I'm in desperate need of coffee."

"Face! Listen to me. I know you crave coffee, but you're still recovering. If you want to get well again, you might listen to what the doctors tell you."

"I am planning on getting better again, but I can't do that without coffee."

"Eat your toast and drink your tea, Lieutenant. That's an order."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** **This is the final chapter of the story. Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing and reading this. I love to hear from you** **Hope you'll like this (very short) final chapter as well.**

 **CHAPTER 10**

Face wasn't too thrilled to stay in the hospital for a couple more days. He had regained most of his strength by now and he was able to eat normal food again. Something else he detested fiercely: hospital food. And he got bored lying in bed all day long resting, especially when he was told to do just that. The only thing he loved to do was flirt with the nurses. They so loved the attention they got from the handsome young man that they did just about anything he wanted. Still, Face counted the days until he would be released from the hospital. He never once complained to the medical staff or to the nurses, but he did complain to his friends.

"Hannibal, can't you just get me out of here?"

"No, kid, I can't. You need to be patient. You were seriously injured and we very nearly lost you. I need to be sure you're well enough to take you home."

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me."

"We'll let the doctors decide that one, kid."

"Oh please …"

"You were dying, Facey."

"If they keep me here any longer, I might die of boredom. Oh come on."

"You ain't goin' nowhere, man."

"Get it through that thick skull of yours, Lieutenant. You're only going home until the doctors release you and confirm you're well enough. Got it?"

As if on cue, one of the doctors walked in. He told Face and his friends that he was recovering well and that they would examine him one last time before releasing him. Face was beyond thrilled to hear that. He was glad to hear that he suffered no permanent damage to any of his organs. The antidote had worked perfectly and there was no need for any further operation at the time. The only reminder of the vicious attack he had was the remaining bruise on his chest.

"You're worried about the bruise, aren't you?" The doctor said as he finished his examination and Face was told to get dressed again.

Face nodded his head.

"Will it ever go away again?"

"Yes absolutely. The bruise is starting to heal up nicely. But as it was a large bruise, it takes a lot of time for the body to heal. You just need to be patient, Mr. Peck, and takes things slowly for a while. But you'll make a full recovery. Don't you worry."

"See, kid. I told you you'd be fine. It takes a whole lot more to get rid of Templeton Peck. Don't you ever forget that."

Face just smiled that radiant smile of his glad to be offered a second chance and ready and willing to enjoy life with the rest of the team.

THE END


End file.
